So after the somewhat rocky start, the flight to Orlando went very smoothly. I had paid the let me sit with my own kids fee when I first booked the plane tickets, so we sat two and two on the plane each girl had her portable DVD player and movies to watch and each got to sit by the window, so no fighting there. If only I could say that about the rest of the trip. The flight was short and sweet and we arrived about 15 minutes early. We got to baggage claim and our bag showed up right away. We were met promptly by our Happy Limo driver and off we went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge after a brief stop at the Publix to get a few bottles of wine and some cheese.
I had really high expectations for the lodge and I was desperately afraid they wouldnt be met. Did our TA provide our room request? Would it be met, or even closely met? Would our room even be ready?
I am happy to report that I loved AKL from first sight. So did my mom. We were assigned room 2421 on the Zebra Trail. Id requested 3rd or 4th floor of Zebra Trail, so Id say the second floor was close enough. We got to the room, put down the luggage and looked out on the balcony to see a giraffe and some antelope. So far so good. The girls wanted to go to the pool (a demand that would be repeated throughout the trip until I wanted to scream just hearing the word pool). I insisted on unpacking everything first (even if Im only staying one night, I hate to live out of a suitcase, so I have to unpack before doing anything else. The girls cave because they really know they wont win that fight. Instead they decide who will sleep in the top bunk first. Jeckle wins. I have no memory of how that decision was made, but since there was no screaming or bloodshed, I didnt worry too much.
The view from the balcony!
The pool at Jambo House is wonderful. I love the natural look to the bottom (some folks think it looks dirty by comparison, the pool at Kidani Village is sparkling and shiny it hurt my eyes, to be honest). The girls swam and Heckle loved the water slide (Jeckle wanted no part of it). We stayed out for at least a good hour and then headed to the Mara for dinner.
I had the African stew. Its pretty much beef stew, except I could taste a bit of sweetness to it and it was spiced with cinnamon. It was served in a bread bowl I could do without that part. Not because it didnt taste good, but Im not a huge fan of soggy bread I ate the top sopped in the stew but otherwise didnt eat much of it. I really enjoyed it. My mom got the veggie flatbread. It had olives and goat cheese and sundried tomatoes (I think). I had a bite and it was pretty good. The bread was nice and crisp. Heckle and Jeckle had the cheese pizza. Or rather, Heckle had her pizza and most of Jeckles, who just wasnt hungry. Im pretty sure they had the applesauce to go with. We chose the cheesecake and the zebra domes. This was my first time trying the zebra domes. They were really good you could taste the liquor in them, but it wasnt overwhelming. Im assuming the alcohol is cooked out. Heckle loved them. Jeckle wouldnt try them. I usually make them try one bite of anything and if they hate it, they never have to eat it again. I didnt feel like fighting over dessert, so she got a pass on that one.
We then took a taxi to the Contemporary for the Pirates and Pals fireworks cruise. Last year, we took a cruise with friends to see Illuminations and the girls loved it. For several months, Jeckle assumed that if we got on a boat, we were going to see fireworks. I had read reviews of this cruise and thought it would be a lot of fun. First we check in the confusing part being that no-one working at the Contemporary had a clue where check in was. We found another family in the same predicament and sort of wandered around in a pack until we found someone who could direct us.
Once we checked in, we were given our pirate bandanas which would identify us as people allowed to board the boats. The bandanas might be large enough to fit the head of a newborn. As in one whose head is still cone-shaped from a trip through the birth canal. Anyone else is out of luck. Some people were creative and knotted the ends until they had the bandana sort of fitting over their heads. I just tied them to belt loops, hoping they wouldnt fall off. We took a trip to the bathroom, lost a bandana but got it back because someone had picked it up and heard the how did we already lose a bandana commotion. We were then led into a large conference room, where we awaited the arrival of Mr. Smee and Captain Hook. In the center of the room was a table with snacks. We grab some bags of popcorn and a few granola bars. It was sort of embarrassing to see some people fall on the food like they had been cast away on a deserted island for years without the benefit of pre-packaged carbohydrates. I also grabbed some bottled water, figuring if we didnt drink them right away, wed take them to the parks.
Captain Hook and Mr. Smee arrived and the line for autographs started. At this point, I would like to state how thrilled I am that my kids dont really care one way or the other about character autographs. If they happen upon someone and can get one, theyre happy. If theyre at a character meal, they want the signature. But if they see a line, they have no desire to stand for more than 5 minutes. I asked Heckle if she wanted an autograph and she said no as soon as she realized shed have to stand up to get it. Jeckle was happily consuming her popcorn and wasnt interested in the guests of honor. After about 20 minutes, the line was down to just one couple and Heckle said she wanted to get her bandana signed if she could. So we got in line. The couple in front of us asked if Heckle wanted to go ahead of them, which I thought was very nice - it was clear that things were winding down and it was possible they wouldnt get pictures with Hook or Smee and they wanted her to go first. Fortunately, everyone got pictures and signatures. The room was then divided into the Captain Hook camp and the Mr. Smee camp. We had a host named Patch (I think they were both Patch), who took us outside to the dock where we boarded the boat.
Overall, the cruise was nice. Patch was very funny and made a Krull joke that cracked me up. I mean, what are the chances that youll hear a CM at Disney World make a joke about Krull? Id guess theyre about the same odds that anyone reading this will even remember the movie Krull. Or that Liam Neeson was in it. Patch talked to each family and asked where they were from and asked about birthdays, anniversaries, and any other celebrations. Then we had a round of trivia with prizes for the correct answers. I had read a review of this cruise elsewhere in which the writer stated that all the kids got something. I dont know if that was an odd occurrence or if the policy has changed. Heckle was somewhat put out that she wasnt called on at all and she knew the answers to most of the trivia questions (topics were the Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and the Pirates of the Caribbean). The seating was assigned, which was good, but the view of the fireworks was better on the left side because that side of the boat faced MK. Wishes was nice. But it wasnt Illuminations. So if there is a cruise in our future at WDW, it will be for Illuminations and not Wishes (of course, part of that stay is at the Poly, so a cruise to see Wishes would be sort of silly). Peter Pan was waiting for us back at the dock, but neither girl had the slightest interest in getting his signature, so we left.
We elected to take the monorail to Epcot and pick up a bus back to AKL. The cab ride would have been faster, but the fare was over $20 and I was feeling cheap. Everyone was tired, so we just sort of fell into bed. The plan for the next day was to have breakfast at Boma and head to the Animal Kingdom.
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followed by a birthday party at the Viper Pit. When I first saw the name of the venue, I thought what a horrible place to have a birthday party. Then I remembered that River Phoenix died in front of the Viper Room, not the Viper Pit. Totally different place. Plus, the Viper Pit is in Etters, Pennsylvania, not West Hollywood, California. Again, totally different place. Although I still find the name Viper Pit a bit unnerving. I have to agree with you-even the Viper Pit as opposed to the Viper Room sounds a little I don't know-underworld for a group of 6 year olds...
This is for a group of 6 year olds, after all, and not my high school gym class.
Are you Ready?
